Guanajuato has more to celebrate than being No. 1 for homicides

Guanajuato may have led the country in homicide rates in August, but it can celebrate the fact that it also tops the list for organ donations.

The state has promoted the culture and professionalization of organ donation through its Alerta 7 Código Vida (Alert 7 Code Life) program.

The Código Vida alert is activated when a potential “hero donor” presents signs of brain death in one of the state’s participating hospitals. The objective of the protocol is that all personnel help with diverse activities — from transportation to lab testing to imagery to operating room tasks — in order to successfully procure organ donations.

The program coordinates hospital administrations, transportation officials, emergency rooms and private and public hospitals in order to procure donations.

It makes the procurement as effective as it can, aiming to obtain the most organs possible from a single donor. It also creates a culture of donation in hospitals, changing organ donation from an anecdotal idea to a structured process ingrained in every hospital employee.

So far this year, hospitals in Guanajuato have performed 69 organ procurements, totaling more than 270 donated organs, including kidneys, corneas, livers, hearts, lungs, bone tissue and skin. In 2018, there were 400 transplants performed in the state.

“The state is in first place nationwide in the rate of organ and tissue donations, and we will continue working to reduce the need for kidneys and corneas in children, for which we will increase organ transplants through the Alerta 7 program,” said Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo.

The pro-donation environment has caught on in the state, and more and more people are joining the organ donation movement as trust and interest in the concept and process grow. There were 92 donors in 2018, the result of years of work on the part of the current and past administrations.

“We strive to make children the primary beneficiaries, so in the Pediatric Hospital of León there are as many transplants as in national institutes like the Mexico City Children’s Hospital or the National Pediatrics Hosptial,” said Sinhue. “In Guanajuato, saving the lives of children will always be our priority, which is why we’re trying to reduce the organ donor waiting list.”

Source: Milenio (sp)